New tranche of Auckland SHAs announced

Nine new Special Housing Areas (SHAs) with a potential yield of 1100 new homes in Auckland were announced today by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Mayor Len Brown. "This newest tranche of Special Housing Areas will bring the total number of SHAs established in Auckland to 106, with a long-term capacity of more than 48,000 new homes. Today’s announcement is the latest step forward in the joint effort by both the Government and Auckland Council to improve the supply and affordability of Auckland’s housing, and illustrates the scale and momentum that is needed," Dr Smith says. "The Government and the council are achieving real progress in working together to address Auckland’s housing issues, and the Special Housing Areas are making a big difference not just in terms of the number of homes that developers are building, but also the price ranges they are building for," Mr Brown says. The nine new SHAs announced today are a mixture of brownfield and greenfield sites, with two located in the city’s north, three in the south, and five within the Auckland isthmus area: Takanini Strategic SHA extension, Takanini: 19.6 hectares, 300 homes Hillary Crescent, Belmont: 9.6 hectares, 340 homes Karepiro Drive, Stanmore Bay: 14.8 hectares, 78 homes McAnnalley Street, Manurewa: 0.9 hectares, 92-111 homes Mill Road, Alfriston: 3.4 hectares, 29-54 homes Mountain Road, Epsom: 0.4 hectares, 60-80 homes St Georges Road, Avondale: 0.7 hectares, 30 homes Larch Street, Avondale: 0.5 hectares, 74 homes Wellington Street, Freemans Bay: 0.2 hectares, 51 homes Meadowbank Road, Meadowbank: 0.5 hectares, 31 homes The Auckland Housing Accord, which was agreed in October 2013 by Dr Smith and Mr Brown, provides for the creation of SHAs by Auckland Council with the approval of the Government. Qualifying developments in these areas can be streamlined and fast-tracked. "When Nick Smith and I are together in Auckland, we are either announcing new houses that are about to be built or we are opening new homes. Last week it was the 100th home at Waimahia. This relationship is working well and it’s working very well for the benefit of Aucklanders. The council will be considering additional SHAs over the next months, and hope to recommend more locations to the Minister in the new year," Mr Brown says. "There is still a power of work involved in converting Special Housing Areas into completed houses, but Aucklanders should be encouraged by the fact residential construction in the city is booming. We are experiencing the longest and strongest sustained period of growth in Auckland’s history, with the rate of new house build at a 10-year high," Dr Smith says. "We recognise the need to keep our foot on the accelerator. The Government’s HomeStart support package for first home buyers will assist 90,000 people into their own home over the next five years. Work is continuing on our programme to facilitate housing on Crown-owned land. The next major step will be the planned second phase of reforms to the Resource Management Act, which will address the long-term issues affecting housing supply and affordability."